Casual
by Differenthoughts
Summary: Fitzwilliam Darcy is the CEO of Darcy Technologies and Elizabeth Bennet is his newest employee. Soon, the two start a casual sexual relationship, despite the fact that commitment-phobe Lizzy proclaims to hate the man. Eventually, she has to decide whether to let herself be vulnerable with another person, or keep her independence. Light Angst. Preview only. Now available on Amazon!
1. The First Time

**Update: This is now a preview only story. Chapter one and the bonus chapter at the end is still available, but if you would like to read the rest please visit Amazon Kindle and search _Casual_ by Different Thoughts. Thanks!**

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 _First time writer, long time lurker. I know just enough about computers to pretend to know what I'm talking about, but if you see giant flaws in the subject please do your best to ignore them and enjoy the story anyway. This came about after I became burnt out on dramatic fics and I was in the mood for something light, but a bit more than fluff. Not much of a smut writer, so a lot of it is glazed over. There are more chapters to come._

 _Description: Modern. If there is anything resembling a plot, it would probably be 'Lizzy and Darcy have sex.' Easing into it, so nothing too smutty or obscene, unfortunately. All the main players show up._

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The first time I slept with Fitzwilliam Darcy, it was so unexpected, so unlikely that if I wasn't there myself I wouldn't have believed it happened.

At the time, we were more than acquaintances, but not exactly friends. If anything, we were more like enemies who begrudgingly put up with one another because we were forced to be in each other's company due to our mutual friends and careers.

It started out like this. My sister Jane and I had developed a software program designed specifically for medical facilities, to make it incredibly easy for doctors to access a patient's medical history. It was pretty dope, actually; and I say that fully realizing no one uses the word _dope_ anymore.

The idea had sprung from working in a medical records office for a few years and seeing how things could be streamlined with the right kind of software. We had always been into computers and taken several classes on the subject, so one day we just took the leap; I cut my hours at work in order to focus more on finishing my degree in software engineering, during which we also poured every spare moment we had into development. We weren't both able to work full time on it, so it did end up taking quite a while before we had a working prototype and even longer than that before we smoothed it into something worthwhile.

As soon as the kinks were worked out, we had put the word out to businesses that might be interested in using it. Incredibly, we were contacted by someone from Darcy Technologies, the number one software development company in the US. We pretended not to be totally shocked when Mr. Darcy himself met with us. He wanted us to install the software at his friend Charlie Bingley's medical facility, and if it went off without a hitch we would be in business. Of course, much to my ongoing misery, Mr. Darcy himself insisted on standing over our shoulders the entire process, double checking every single aspect of our work.

Any nervousness I had experienced fled under his critical eye and overbearing ways; my courage had risen to the challenge and I was determined not to be intimidated. So what if he was incredibly smart, insanely talented, and ridiculously good looking? I was in no way impressed; I knew our program would streamline the electronic medical record process and there was nothing Darcy could say to change that fact.

Jane was more easy-going about our domineering boss, but that was Jane's personality. Her attitude might have also had to do with the fact that she was mooning over Dr. Charles Bingley the entire time. Fortunately he was aware enough of how lucky he was to gain her interest and hadn't hesitated to ask her out. Unfortunately, Darcy and I often got wrapped up into the couples outings. This made for plenty of time to argue with one another, which we were particularly good at, seeing as how it was pretty much our only form of communication.

After the software was implemented and the employees educated on how to use it, Jane and I walked away with a pretty sizeable paycheck from Darcy Technologies for the rights to our software. Well, walked away was probably not accurate; Darcy had offered cash _and_ a job on his development team. It would have been stupid to turn down the incredible offer, as much as I despised the boorish man and had been looking forward to seeing the back of him. I mean, figuratively. I was in no way interested in his backside, despite how impressively good it looked. Or, whatever; not the point.

After not too much prodding from Jane, I finally accepted. Jane and Charlie still went out on a regular basis, Darcy and I still got dragged out with them every once in a while. We were actually supposed to meet his friend and my sister on the night our relationship had, let's say, slipped into something far more complicated than frienemies, or coworkers, or whatever we had been to one another.

I was picking him up at his condo. Well, okay, he was the one driving us to the party we were supposed to meet our better haves at; I had just taken the bus to his place to make it easier. I may have been in between cars at the moment.

"We're going to be late," I pointed out, knowing how much Darcy absolutely despised being late to anything. For him, ten minutes early was on time, on time was late, and anything past that was a personal disgrace.

"If Charlie had given me any warning-" he grumbled, sounding impressively pissed about the whole situation. Then again, when didn't Christmas fall in December? I rolled my eyes.

"It's not like you _have_ to go," I was swinging my purse in a bored manner, leaning against the wall outside of his bedroom. His door was wide open, of course; for such a private guy, Darcy didn't seem to notice his exhibitionist tendencies. Not that I ever wanted to see him naked.

"I'm your ride, aren't I?" he was suddenly beside me in the open door way. I stopped swinging my purse and might have jumped a little at his close proximity.

"Please," I scoffed, turning towards him and crossing my arms, "You aren't going to use me as an excuse. That's all I need; to hear you whining all night about how it's _my_ fault you had to be social."

"I do not _whine_." He glared. With practice, I ignored how he looked like he wanted to burn a hole in the side of my head and instead took in his wardrobe choice.

"Really? A suit?" I pursed my lips and looked to the ceiling. " _Shocker_." I never cared about sparing his feelings because, to be honest, I wasn't sure he had any.

"What's wrong now?" he huffed, looking down at himself. The image he presented wasn't actually a bad one; he had on an expensive looking black suit, and the white shirt he wore contrasted nicely with the color of his tie – a dark blue color that was so close the exact shading of his eye I wondered if he'd had it specially made.

"It's a _party_ , Darcy," I rolled my eyes. "At a dive bar. You were the kind of kid who showed up to birthday parties wearing your church clothes, weren't you?"

"Church clothes?" he was either questioning me or mocking me, from his scathing tone it was hard to tell which. Either way, the glare turned into a scowl. A petulant scowl, I might add. "I suppose this means I have to change," he was already angrily tearing his tie off. I winced, thinking it would be a shame if anything happened to what was, personally and secretly, my favorite tie of his. Not that I really cared.

"No, by all means, wear a suit; make sure everyone remembers you're the boss. Maybe you can even bring your laptop, so no one comes up to talk to you," I suggested.

"Fine by me," he sulked. I sighed and dropped my purse.

"God, you are such a baby," I felt the need to point out.

With both hands, I slipped his jacket off his shoulders, taking advantage of the absolute astonishment that rendered him motionless. I'm not sure we had ever touched before, but I was not about to stand out here another twenty minutes just so he could change into something that would probably turn out to make him look just as unapproachable. I pivoted and hung the jacket on the door handle, afraid he would contemplate bodily harm if I casually tossed it aside. Knowing him, it was probably worth more than the value of all my clothes combined.

He had already gotten rid of the tie, so I unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt and tugged it open a bit, folding the open collar back. I looked him over with a critical eye, and then rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. He took my endeavors to make him appear more casual stoically, which kind of put me on edge, to be honest. At the very least I expected him to complain throughout the process. I also wouldn't put it past him to push me away and tell me to take my opinions on his wardrobe and shove them.

I looked him over again. He was still stiff, but honestly, I couldn't help him with that; it was ingrained. He was also looking at me with an expression I couldn't interpret and for some reason I felt a blush creeping up my neck. Impulsively, I reached up and messed his hair, every strand of which was always perfectly in place.

"Wow, your hair is really soft." The words had left my mouth before I could really think about how it would sound – story of my life. I might have also been beyond destroying his probably very expensive hairdo and was now simply running my hand through it; ostensibly to fix the mess I had made.

But, seriously, that was all that had happened. That was all it had taken for him to lean the remaining distance between us and kiss me. Which, in my defense, was shocking. Seriously – _shocking;_ I am not using that word lightly here. This was the first reason I did not push him away and ask him what the hell he was thinking. And then I noticed it was a nice kiss. Really, really nice. That was the second.

So, I might have started kissing him back. The hand that had just been running through his incredibly soft hair slipped to the back of his neck just as his hand grabbed a fistful of my curls. Instead of things eventually slowing down enough to remember we hated each other, we barely stopped to even take a breath. We definitely didn't speak, an act which I am convinced, no matter what was said by who, would have killed the sudden passion between us and put an end to whatever was happening.

So I kind of just…let nature take its course. Yeah, I hated the guy and I hated myself a little bit for sleeping with someone I despised so much but what could I say? He was a really good kisser. He was also really good at other things too.

There was no hesitation, no awkwardness even though there definitely should have been. We explored each other as new lovers often did, but he was so sure of every move he made. That calculating, intense focus of his was completely on me, and I felt him cataloging every shudder, every hitch of my breath for further review.

I had never been with a man where the first time, at least, didn't have its share of fumbling and hesitancy. Somehow challenged by his effectiveness, I found myself becoming just as in tune to him. I reveled in every groan, every tremor, and especially the way he hissed what may have been the shortest version of my name with his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched. I found I wanted to make him lose the control he wore like a second skin and I did my very best to make that happen. It was almost a battle between us, except the more one of us won, the better it was for the other.

So, yeah, we missed the party.

When I was sneaking out of his house hours later, I had a few missed calls. Both Jane and Charlotte, my new friend who also worked for DT, were attempting to see where I was. Charlotte and I had met my first day on the job and became best friends instantly due to our mutual wit and love of sarcasm. Thinking about Charlotte reminded me that not only did I just sleep with my mortal enemy, but I also just slept with my boss. That couldn't be good.

Surprisingly though, he didn't really make it awkward. In the first show of social grace from him _ever_ , he simply pretended nothing had changed in our relationship. That included still arguing with me over every little thing. He wasn't suddenly sweet; we weren't exchanging shy or flirty smiles in the hallway or during meetings. Nor was he sullen about me leaving his bed without a word; he didn't try to corner me and talk about our relationship. I had to take the afternoon to process how I felt about that, but then I realized I was relieved. I definitely didn't want a relationship with this man; we were way too different on almost every level.

So, we slept together. It would have been nice if there had been alcohol to blame, but there it is.

That would have probably been the end of it if it hadn't happened again.

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UPDATE: This is the first chapter of a published Kindle ebook. If you would like to read the rest, please check out Casual by Differenthoughts on Amazon Kindle. Feel free to contact me if you have any trouble.

 **The next chapter is a bonus chapter I will also leave up, but be aware it is set at the END of the story and will obviously contain _major spoilers_.**

Thanks!


	2. Good old fashioned fluff

_**Be aware! This is a bonus chapter that is set at the end of chapter 15. If you have not yet read the full story, this is full of spoilers and probably won't make sense.**_

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Merry Christmas!

I had the idea a week or so ago to post a chapter for a little holiday surprise to thank everyone for your wonderful support. That being said, I couldn't really make anything happen with the holiday theme, so I just went with what felt natural. I also didn't have time for an official edit, but I hope there's nothing too horrible, and that it's light and fluffy enough that it's not detrimental.

FYI- I'm working on a longer, more plot driven story, so be on the look out for a new one from me.

I hope everyone has a great holiday and a happy new year. Enjoy!

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It had been three months since Darcy and I were married in secret.

We hadn't actually planned on waiting so long to tell our families, but after seeing what Jane was going through, I became even less enthusiastic about dropping the bomb. Just about every person on both sides of the family were constantly calling to give advice on best marriage practices, and I even overheard Caroline with a bunch of the Bingley cousins and aunts deep in discussion about how good of a wife Jane was being so far.

So I was enjoying learning how to be a wife without the pressure of either his family or mine giving their input.

Other than that things were going incredibly well. Despite being very good at arguing with one another, these last few months had been nothing but goofy smiles, flirty texts, and being almost reclusive in our desire to be alone together. I think I learned more about Darcy in these last few months than I have in the whole of our relationship. Well, I learned about his background, his family, and his childhood. I learned how much coffee he liked to drink in the day, and that it was a good idea to keep some snacks with me in case he started to get grumpy and needed to eat; all of these facets only enhanced the man I fell in love with.

Unfortunately, I still had moments of panic every once in a while when I thought about how permanent our lives were together, but he has become very adept at easing me out of these moods. I don't think I could love him anymore than I do. I still get a thrill when I see him appear before me, and then another when I remember that we're married. I wonder if it will ever go away; I assume it will, but I'm not eager for it to happen.

Husband has become my new favorite word; a close second is when he calls me wife.

It's pretty safe to say I have had multiple occasions to speculate on how we would finally break the news to our families, not only that we had gotten married in secret, but that we only wanted a small family affair if we _were_ to have a real wedding. I was more prone to the idea of blurting it out and leaving the room before anyone could ask questions, but Darcy wanted to wait until we were inevitably all in one place and announce it with fair warning for those involved with heart conditions.

I knew it had to be soon; every time I went to work, or to meet with Jane, or Charlotte, or any of our mutual friends or family, I would take my wedding ring off and put it on a silver chain to wear around my neck so that no one would ask questions. Lately, though, the look in Darcy's eyes when I pulled the ring off my finger and tucked it into my shirt where it couldn't be seen tore at my heart. I hated to make him unhappy and I could tell keeping this secret was beginning to wear on him.

I decided to stop by DT on my way home from visiting the other newlyweds—specifically Jane and Charles. It took a minute to get to him as I walked through the old floors and caught up with all my old coworkers and friends. When I finally got to his office I was surprised at first to see someone other than Stephanie, his personal assistant, sitting at the desk. Then I remembered when he told me they were hiring a temporary replacement for when Stephanie went on a month long trip out of the states to visit family.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Her tone was polite and professional, but she seemed a bit wary.

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth. Is Darcy free?" I asked.

"Do you have an appointment?" she rose an eyebrow at me.

"No but..." I hesitated, wondering how to explain who I was when Stephanie rushed in with her arms full of papers.

"Janet. This is Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy's girlfriend." She informed the new girl hastily. "Mr. Darcy is always free for Elizabeth," she informed me with a sly smile. I rolled my eyes with humor.

"But is he _busy_?" I needed to know.

"He just finished up his conference call about five minutes ago. I was going to see if he wanted lunch." Janet jumped in helpfully with a more open look on her face. I had the feeling she was nervous she just made a blunder, but how was she supposed to know who I was?

I thanked her and took another minute to catch up with Steph before finally pushing his door open and closing it behind me.

"I don't have time for lunch right now, do you mind getting me a sandwich from the deli next door?" His tone was authoritative and clipped; he didn't even bother looking up to see who had come in. I shook my head with affection, wondering where all my hard work to make him more approachable had gone.

"Do you have a minute for your loving wife, Mr. Darcy?" I asked with one of those big, goofy smiles I didn't seem to be able to suppress around him.

"Sweetheart," he had his own goofy smile when his head shot up from looking down at the papers on his desk. "What are you doing here?"

"Miss me?" I grinned, taking my time walking towards him as I enjoyed his eyes on me.

"Always," he murmured with feeling.

I slid sideways into his lap and wrapped one arm around his neck while the other landed at his shirt collar. I was already playing with one of the buttons distractedly while his own free hand was caressing me in a way that was soft and light, but full of promise.

"Will," I said. I heard the nervousness in my voice and instantly became irritated with myself. Why were these things always so _difficult_ for me?

"Lizzy," he caught my tone right away, of course he did, and his palm traveled up my body until he was cupping my face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I huffed.

"Oh," unexpectedly, he grinned. "I see."

"See what?" I looked at him, thrown off by his reaction.

"You are about to tell me something sweet, or admit I was right about something," he predicted with a familiar smug lift to his mouth. I frowned and he shifted the hand that had been cupping my cheek so he was now lightly running his fingers over my face, from my forehead to my chin. "You get this look on your face, with furrowed brows and pouting lips, like you're being forced to apologize for something you didn't do."

"I do not walk around pouting," I replied as I blushed at how accurate his description of me was. He only laughed lightly, smoothing my hair back.

"I probably shouldn't have said anything. I hope you don't become self-conscious, I love seeing that look on your face." he murmured, leaning in to kiss my cheek. "You are very adorable."

"You shouldn't encourage my bad habits, Darcy," I scolded as best I could. He pulled back.

"Yes, dear," he smiled and I laughed at his new favorite phrase when he disagreed but didn't want to argue about it.

"I… I wanted to say…" I began with good intentions, but predictably faltered.

"You love me?" he prompted with a soft smile.

"No." I replied without thinking before hurriedly adding, "I mean, yes, of course I do," I kind of winced, "but that's not what I wanted to say."

"Is it that you have the most handsome, brilliant, charming husband in the world?" he prompted again.

"I do," I grinned, not having the heart to even pretend otherwise when he was being so goddamn cute. "But no."

Before he could guess again I reached down and pulled the necklace that still held my wedding ring on it. I saw his eyes shift from playful to curiously wary. The clasp was old and for a moment I struggled with it before huffing once more in annoyance and pulling at both ends until it broke apart; the ring fell into my open palm. I then leaned over to drop the now empty and broken necklace in the trash. It wasn't anything special, just a simple silver chain I acquired somewhere along the way and had in my sparse jewelry collection for years. The symbolism I was going for was well worth the sacrifice.

"I don't want to take my ring off anymore," I said as I slipped it back onto my finger and gazed down at it. "I'm glad we had this time to adjust but I… let's just tell everyone."

"What brought this on?" he wondered softly after a moment.

"Being married brought it on," I replied. I took a breath, forcing myself to continue. "I love it. I love being Mrs. Darcy." I had to pause again to enjoy the small grin of pure happiness he gave me. "I don't want this weird secret marriage thing anymore." I confessed with a frown. "I mean— I think I _needed_ it. At first. But… I don't want it anymore."

"Lizzy," He murmured, holding my chin to be able to tilt my mouth into his. "I love you,"

"I don't know why, sometimes," I murmured back without really having the intention of it. To be honest, though, the thought _had_ been swirling around in my head and I was getting very used to sharing _all_ my inner dialogue with him.

"What?" He had pulled back, alert.

"I mean," I shook my head, my cheeks warming, "I mean I _know_ you love me but… I'm such a mess. It's been three months and I couldn't even tell our families and friends that we got married, and—"

"Stop." He said, firm and serious. "Lizzy, I'm not being some kind of martyr, suffering to make you happy. Although," he ran a finger down my cheek and his voice soften "Although I _would_. Gladly. But I agreed to keep this between us because I know you need time to adjust, sometimes. If we got married and the whole world knew, I would still be just as happy as I am now. All that matters is you're my wife and we are going to spend the rest of our lives together."

"Will," I blinked, tucking my head into his neck and hugging him tightly. "I love you so much,"

"I love you so much," he echoed, kissing my forehead.

Soon, his hand started to slide up my leg and under my skirt as he sucked on the most sensitive part of my neck.

"I thought you had work to do," I attempted to tease, but my voice was already breathy and I made zero effort to deter him.

"You're always going to be more important, Lizzy," He whispered in my ear before trailing his kisses down my throat.

"You're going to spoil me, Will," I chided with a lump in my throat.

"Good," he replied. "I intend on making that a daily goal of mine."

I gasped when he unexpectedly grabbed my hips and lifted me off of his lap to set me down on the desk in front of him. When he leaned into me, he continued where he left off—running his teeth over a particularly sweet spot on my clavicle. I tried to run my hands over his chest, but as soon as I began to lift my arms, Darcy's hands shot to mine and pressed them firmly down.

"Let me spoil you, Mrs. Darcy," he murmured before pressed an open mouthed kiss to my shoulder.

"Touching you _does_ spoil me," I assured him with a bit of a pout. He hummed but didn't let up the pressure on my hands. Even when he finally did, it was to lift my shirt up and over my head. "W-Will," I stuttered, suddenly shy and unsure.

"No one's going to come in here, Lizzy," he assured me with pure confidence in his voice as he took a moment to look at me topless and sitting on his desk. Was it the setting that made him more commanding, or was he playing the part of CEO Darcy? Either way, I couldn't help but enjoy his authoritative attitude.

Still, I did not see this going so far when we started up and I didn't know if I was confident enough to be doing this kind of thing with his secretary, his new hire, and whoever else happened to be just outside of the room. Was the door even locked?

"All you have to do is try to keep your voice down," he continued, then tugged my bra down to swirl his tongue over my right breast. I bit my lip to stifle my moan, but it wasn't exactly quiet.

"You have to do better than that." He teased, then slipped out of his chair to kneel in front of me. He looked up at me with a mischievous, fun-loving grin on his face as his hot hand started a slow, teasing trek from my ankle to my thigh.

"Will," I was already breathing heavily and when he leaned in to press a kiss to my inner thigh, well above my knee, I had to lean back and instinctively bit my knuckle to try and stifle another moan. "Shit, Will,"

"Not off to a good start, Mrs. Darcy," he teased again. "Try again,"

His mouth was still kissing his way higher, but after his taunt he reached his hand from behind my knee to caress me through my underwear. I jumped, but managed to cover my mouth so the only noise that came out was a low whine only he would be able to hear.

"Good girl," he whispered, reaching up with both hands to pull the fabric down and off to disappear somewhere. I could feel his hot breath _so close_ and I was losing my mind every second longer that he took.

"Please, Will," I whispered desperately, tilting my hips up a bit. His hand laid flat against my stomach, subduing me.

"Stay still," he ordered in a low commanding voice, still tasting his way up my thighs. I whimpered. "Understand?"

"Yes," I mumbled back meekly. When he got in these moods, I knew he would stick to his word no matter what I threw at him. I still liked to challenge him as much as possible, but in this moment I was as passive as I had ever been.

"Yes?" He was clearly pleased. I grit my teeth with frustration when he _still_ prolonged this, even when I did as he asked. "What a perfectly submissive wife I have."

With that, I began to sit back up, ready to defend myself with a scowl and a kick when he finally jumped the remaining distance and ran his tongue over me. I wasn't expecting it, and I almost cried out before I managed to literally bite my own tongue to keep the sound from escaping further than our little bubble.

"Good girl," he whispered again, his mouth still on me. I realized his words had been a test to try catch me off guard.

"Will," I gasped as quietly as I could. My hands were locked in painful fists at my sides. I could feel my nails biting into my palms but I couldn't manage to loosen my grip. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Will, _please."_

"I just wanted to make sure you would keep quiet, my beautiful bride," he told me as he grabbed my hips and tugged me so I was at the very edge of his desk. "But I promised to spoil you, and I intend to," and then his mouth was back between my legs and all I had thought for was to make sure I did what I could to keep anyone on the other side of the door ignorant about what the CEO was doing to his wife on his desk.

I didn't last long. Darcy knew me too well. When I was still panting and a little shaky, he pulled me back into his lap, kissing me sweetly and holding me while I finished recovering.

"I love you, Lizzy," he nuzzled in my neck. I chuckled softly.

"I love you too, Mr. Darcy," I told him sincerely before my tone turned teasing, "but if you ever call me a submissive little wife again, you're going to be sorry."

He laughed. "Yes, dear."

* * *

"Let's just invite everyone over for a dinner party and tell them then," Darcy suggested.

We were laying on the couch together with the TV on in the background. I was tucked in between the back of the couch and his chest, with my hand slowly exploring any and all the skin I came in contact with. His hand was under my shirt, tracing patterns in my lower back. This was probably my favorite time of day and a new tradition I encouraged him to embrace.

"My mother and your aunt in the same room." I said in a horrified tone of voice. "Maybe we should go out to eat so we have somewhere to escape to after we tell them."

"Your mother and my aunt in the same room, out in _public_ ," he echoed my tone.

"Good point." I giggled.

"Do you think if we tell Jane and Charlie first that they'll host something? Best of both worlds." he commented.

"Only because they have more joy than sense," I said, enjoying the rumble of soft laughter I felt under my head.

"We could hire and send out a bunch of messengers that are timed down to the minute, so no one finds out after anyone else, and the messengers can get the backlash instead of us." Darcy tried again.

"More money than sense." I mumbled teasingly, earning a poke to my side that caused me to laugh. "I didn't say I didn't like the idea."

"Let's start with the easy ones. Jane, Charlie, Gigi, and Richard." I suggested.

"Pemberley this weekend?" he asked.

"No," I pouted. "This week. Tomorrow. Tonight. Right now."

"Okay," he sounded both amused and skeptical. "Let's just FaceTime them then."

"Fine," I confirmed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and then, when he didn't move, I pulled his phone out for him.

"I'll call Jane, you call Charlie." I instructed. He looked a little shocked, but dutifully began scrolling for his friend's name.

"Lizzy," Jane greeted with a big, content grin. I could tell she was in the kitchen of their condo, and heard Charlie answering his own call off screen. "I was just thinking about calling you. Will is calling Charlie just now, are you guys together?"

"Yeah, we're both here. We have some news," I told her out, shifting us so she could see both Will and I. Charlie, likewise, must have heard me, because he came up and put and arm around Jane to join in, also holding his phone up.

"Will and I got married three months ago." I announced.

"Really," Darcy turned to me, smiling incredulously. "After all that, you just blurt it out?"

Both Jane and Charlie looked at us uncomprehendingly.

"Well?" I prompted finally.

"I don't get it." Jane shook her head.

"Which part?" I laughed. "Where we got married, or where we didn't tell anyone for three months?"

"No actually, now that you say it out loud both are pretty believable." Jane shook her head. "But, are you really serious?"

"Yes," I laughed again. "This is a terrible start if even _you_ don't believe it's possible."

"Of course we believe it's possible," Charlie finally jumped in. "And I for one am not surprised. Congratulations!"

Jane hurried to include her own well wishes, and we spent another ten minutes or so answering questions before we hung up.

"Well," Darcy sighed tucking my curls behind my ears. "Who's next?"

Out of everyone we called that night, Aunt Catherine was the only one to openly tell us we had made a mistake, that our lives would end in disaster, that Darcy's company would somehow fail because of it, and that we better come by this weekend to straighten everything out.

"I'm sorry about that, sweetheart," he frowned, coming back to sit on the couch after putting both of our phones in the other room on silent. I shifted so I could rub his neck.

"Who cares? Now everyone finally knows." I soothed with a smile. He tilted his head around so he could see me, a tentative smile on his own face.

"That really makes you happy, doesn't it?" he asked softly.

"It really, really does." I told him, wrapping my arms around him from the side and kissing his cheek.

"Me, too." He sighed, turning and shifting until we were back lounging together on the couch.

"This makes me happy, too." I told him, kissing his chest above his heart.

"To tell the truth," he replied with bemusement, "I was skeptical at first, but you made a believer out of me. I could spend all night here with you."

"You already spend all night with me, Mr. Darcy." I reminded him.

"I could spend every waking and sleeping moment with you and it not be long enough," he told me, inching his hand up so my shirt was high on my chest.

"So not only do you love me, you like me," I commented, resting my chin on his chest to gaze at him. He grinned in the way he only did when we were alone; it was open and loving and it still made my heart skip.

"I love you, and I like you, and I adore you…" he trailed off when I leaned up to kiss him.

"You're such a sap, Darcy," I teased. "But I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Yes," he confirmed seriously. "You are most definitely stuck with me."

"I love you, husband." I kissed his cheek. "More than anyone or anything."

"I love you, wife." He shifted us again so we were face to face and then kissed me. "More than anyone or anything, and enough to endure a weekend at Pemeberly with Aunt Catherine."

"Maybe we can convince Richard or Gigi to do something crazy and take the focus off us a little." I thought aloud.

"Sure," he frowned. "Call my baby sister and tell her to do something crazy."

I laughed, rubbing his cheek. "Would you still love me if I corrupted your perfect sister?"

"I suppose I'd have to," he said with an overly dramatic sigh. I school my features into displeasure until he nuzzled my neck. "I mean _of course_ I would."

"Better," I approved, moving to straddle him. I began slowly unbuttoning his shirt until it was splayed open. "What if I burned down Pemberly?"

He looked absolutely horrified for a moment before attempting nonchalance. "It's just a house, and I'm sure you'd have your reasons."

I threw my head back and laughed. "Oh, Darcy," I grinned down at him. "You've got it bad."

"I do," he smiled back, then moved his hands to hold my hips. "What about you?"

"Do I have it bad?" I asked, confused. He shook his head.

"If I told you I wiped that new program you've spent almost a year on already?" he rose an eyebrow.

"I guess I would go back to the drawing board," I shrugged, running my nails down his chest.

"If I invited your mom to come live with us?" he went on, smiling. My jaw dropped of its own volition.

"I… would… make you see a doctor." I replied, shuddering. "But," I leaned down to kiss him. "I would still love you."

"That's big," he commented, impressed. "What if I went to the desert to live life as a monk for a year?"

"I'm not sure monks can be married," I scrunched up my nose. "You might have to introduce me to your cousin Henry before you go."

I was flipped onto my back so fast I didn't see it coming and let out a squeal of surprise, then laughed at the scowl on Darcy's face.

"I meant because he's a lawyer and he would know!" I protested, lying through my teeth. Darcy leaned down and nipped my neck and I gasped and laughed again, my voice breathy.

"Thin ice, Lizzy," he warned.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy." I licked my lips. "Cousins are off limits. Got it."

" _All_ men, Lizzy. In fact, _everyone_." He growled, holding my hands down against the couch and leaning over me.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I married you." I told him sweetly.

"Yes, my dear Elizabeth Darcy," he confirmed, pushing a knee between my legs. "It is."


End file.
